


Fire Snakes and Brimstone

by Laily



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Background Past Apollo/Loki, Brotherly Love, Drama, Established Relationship, Fluff, Gorgons (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), Graphic Depictions of Illness, Humor, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magical Accidents, Protective Stephen Strange, Protective Thor (Marvel), References to Ancient Greek Religion & Lore, Romance, Sick Loki (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:15:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26081026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Laily/pseuds/Laily
Summary: Defeating the enemy should be a cause for celebration but Stephen's intuition is never wrong - and there is something wrong with Loki. Very wrong.Aka the one time Loki saved Stephen's life, and the one time Stephen almost didn't return the favor.
Relationships: Loki & Thor, Loki/Stephen Strange
Comments: 11
Kudos: 116





	Fire Snakes and Brimstone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Processpending](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Processpending/gifts).



_Shit._

This was not supposed to happen.

With both Wong and Stephen incapacitated, it was a wonder that the Mirror Dimension was holding at all.

Who was he kidding. Incapacitated did not even begin to describe it.

Ossified.

Fossilised.

Petrified. Literally.

Thought after hysterical thought flitted through Loki’s mind as he feverishly racked his brain for a way out of this predicament. Oh he could have done a number of things already, instead of cowering behind the hulking stone figure of what was once Master Wong – but a plan that allowed for safe passage for all three of them? He was hard-pressed to think of even one.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of red lighting up one half of Stephen’s hardened face just a few yards away, and Loki fought the urge to scream in frustration. By his calculation, he could grab Stephen and break themselves out of the Mirror Dimension, just him and Stephen…but Stephen would never forgive him if he abandoned Wong to his stony, stone-cold, stone-dead fate.

Besides, Loki had grown rather fond of his lover’s best friend and right-hand man. Stephen chose his sidekicks well. Wong was great in the kitchen and his culinary creations could put any classically-trained chef to shame. And he was passable at magic so…if Loki were to drain his magic dry and brittle in his attempts to (in no particular order)

1\. Vanquish/Banish/Annihilate this poor man’s idea of a demon, a bootleg Medusa conjured from the vilest depths of the Gorgon Underworld.

2\. Destroy the useless, ‘priceless’ relic Stephen had found in the Vault of the Sanctum and sworn would work. (Athena’s shield, my arse! Loki raged. Fake, all of you lot!) The only good it did was fortuitously shield Loki from Medusa’s line of vision while he scrambled to put his magic shields up just in the nick of time to avoid being turned to stone himself.

3\. Find the wannabe sorcerer who dared ruin his Friday evening plans – Wong even had exclusive tickets to see an Off- _Off_ -Broadway show and promised to stay out of their hair (and bedroom) for at least the next twelve hours – and obliterate him, or her. (Or them, depending on their binary inclination. Loki of all people should know, after all.)

4\. Break themselves out of this Mirror Dimension, preferably after the demon had been adequately subjugated. (Brilliant idea, Wong. Brilliant. Now they were all going to die in here, and no one out there was the wiser. Not even Thor knew where Loki was. Like, physically. Dimensionally speaking.)

5\. Eat grapes in (or off) Stephen’s lap like he had been looking forward to all week.

They had barely gone through half a bowl of seedless, premium Japanese grapes, the best grapes modern money could buy, when fake Medusa came crashing through the front door of the Sanctum, unsolicited and unannounced.

Fake or not, her powers were real, and as much as he hated to admit it, Loki was in a tight spot. The one day he was not prepared for a fight, the one day he had wanted to let his hair down, figuratively and literally, shit happened.

I could use some help right about now, Dionysus, Loki thought frantically. But if any of his ancient divine friends were listening, they were not answering.

 _How about an ancient past lover?_ A voice he had not heard in centuries teased. _Could he be of any help?_

Of _course_.

They had once gone exploring into the Hades once, Apollo and him, Loki recalled as he pawed through his magic pockets in a frenzy for the potion he once used…

_Where is it? Ah! Found it!_

Loki uncorked the palm-sized bottle and a waft of chypre immediately assaulted his senses.

 _Apollo, you lifesaver_.

Even the laid-best plans had a way of going awry at the very last minute, but Loki was not going down without a fight. The grapes were Ruby Romans and yes, they were a gift for Thor from the Japanese government but it was not like Thor would miss them anyway – Loki was told they could fetch up to ten thousand dollars a bunch, which was apparently a hell of a lot of money judging from the way Stephen’s eyes nearly popped out of the sockets when Loki told him.

 _But first things first!_ Loki tipped the bottle and two drops of precious elixir glistened like honey on the tips of his middle and index fingers. He closed his eyes and uttered a string of nonsensical quasi-Greek words, imbuing the makeshift protective spell with a hell of a lot of magic as he slid his fingers across his forehead along the line of his brows for protection, and the gift of Sight.

The only way to defeat Medusa was to cut off her head, preferably before she turned you to stone. And in order to do that, Loki needed the Sight that would allow him to see without actually opening his eyes.

His seidr should have been enough to protect his physical body, but after what happened to Stephen and Wong, he was not taking any chances.

Apollo had never once failed him and true enough, as Loki breathed the last of the spell out, it took effect and his Third Eye opened.

He rose from behind Wong’s stone figure and walked carefully around it, trusting his feet to guide his way as stealthily as he could.

With his preternatural sense of hearing, Loki could make out the unmistakable hissing sound of the serpents billowing around Medusa’s head. A shadow slithered from one marble column to another. A viper wrapped itself around one of the pillars holding the Sanctum upright and spat venom at Loki’s feet, narrowly missing the tip of his boot.

Eyes still closed, Loki could sense Medusa watching him, poised to attack. He could feel the heat and the wrath of her gaze burn every inch of exposed skin but thankfully, his magic seemed to hold. As long as Loki kept his eyes closed before the effect of the potion ran out, he should be fine, just fine –

_And she comes!_

With a roar, the demoness emerged from behind the column but Loki was ready, a long sword of Jotun Ice and steel in one hand – it may not have been forged by Hephaestus or wielded by Perseus as the mythology would have it – but Loki was never one to follow through on legends.

“For I am Loki,” he whispered. “ _I_ am legend.”

And he swung.

____________________________________

“Hey,” Loki called softly.

Stephen’s eyes focused instantly, and Loki breathed an internal sigh of relief.

“Hey, you.”

Loki’s gaze roamed the entire length of Stephen’s body, all pliant flesh and blood once more. “All is well?”

Stephen ran a hand down his torso. The memories were coming back in bits and pieces. “I think so. Did you get her?”

Loki gestured at the object by his feet. “Done and decapitated.”

Stephen’s lips twitched. “Well done.”

“It’s not over yet,” Loki said wearily. “I haven’t turned Wong back and we haven’t got much time before the petrification becomes irreversible.”

Stephen watched as Loki scraped some of the dust off Medusa’s stone cheek with a dagger, collecting it in the palm of his hand. With his other thumb, he massaged the still malleable ridge of her right eyebrow, and when a single tear appeared at the inner corner of her grotesque eye, he carefully collected it with the tip of his dagger.

Loki mixed the tear with the dust and chanted a spell, before blowing the mixture, now evaporated into a cloud of gold dust all over Wong.

“You okay?” Stephen caught sight of Loki’s throat bobbing up and down as though he was trying to swallow something lodged in his throat.

“Hmm?” Loki hummed distractedly as he waited impatiently for the reversal spell to take effect and restore Wong to his former glory.

“You alright?” Stephen repeated his question.

Loki dusted his hands free of all the remnants of the residue, satisfied that Wong was finally twitching. He prodded a thumb into the spot below his sternum. “Yeah. Just a little queasy.”

“Serves you right for going into battle with an empty stomach. Well. Almost empty.”

“Dinner would have ruined the taste of the grapes. You know how paprika lingers on my tongue for hours.”

“Well, if you’re going to throw up, better do it now. It’s easier to clean up in the Mirror Dimension than in the real world,” Stephen teased, but the hand he placed on the small of Loki’s back was comforting.

Loki made a face. “That would be a waste of some damn good grapes.”

Stephen laughed and wagered he had just seconds before Wong completely recovered so he stole a quick kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. And I’m sorry our Friday night in got ruined.”

Loki leaned in, relishing in the feel of Stephen’s soft lips against his skin. He knew not what he would have done if the spell had failed to turn Stephen back. “I’m sure some of it could be salvaged.”

_____________________________

“You sure you don’t want to stay over tonight?”

“I’m sure.” The dull, achy feeling in the pit of his stomach had not gone away despite taking a few cold bites of dinner and gulps of water. An hour later his belly was hurting something fierce, fierce enough for Loki to know he could not stay. It was only a matter of time before Stephen caught on, and he did not think he could bear it if Stephen started mother-henning, when they could be fucking.

Loki knew his smile did not reach his eyes but it was the best he could do. “I’m just a bit tired from all the spell-casting, I guess.”

“If you’re sure…” Stephen said with a hint of suspicion. “Want me to see you home?”

Loki rolled his eyes. “I’m over a thousand years old, darling. I can see myself home just fine.”

Stephen was about to say something presumably snarky in return, but the fatigue in Loki’s demeanour must have stayed his tongue.

Loki’s sensitive belly spasmed again, and he fought to keep the pain out of his voice. He gave Stephen’s hand a particularly strong squeeze instead, hoping that his lover’s sharp intellect would infer from that nothing more than a mere display of affection.

“Just – keep Medusa’s head somewhere safe. I’ll come back tomorrow morning once we are both rested and we can figure out what to do next.”

Stephen did not look all that convinced, but there was hardly anything he could say or do when Loki’s mind was already made. “Call me if you need anything.”

Loki said nothing and only brushed their lips together briefly, but the kiss was perfunctory and devoid of warmth. Without another word, he disappeared out of sight in a cloud of green and gold, leaving Stephen to stand alone in the middle of the Atrium, unable to shake the very bad feeling stirring the pit of his gut. 

Something was not right.

_____________________________

“Strange!”

Stephen’s eyes flew open at the sound of something crashing down below. _Wha – ?_

“Again?” Wong growled as they bumped into each other on the second-floor hallway. “What the hell is going on, Stephen?”

Stephen shook his head. No, he recognised the aura, this tingling sensation on the back of his neck, the raw energy bristling the walls of the Sanctum –

“Thor?” He flew down the grand staircase in record time to meet the Thunderer halfway before the Asgardian could drop whatever he was holding in his arms; it was a human-shaped bundle of white and whiter, mottled in places with patches of bright red that grew slowly as he watched.

“Help him,” Thor pleaded, his eyes crazed, his spiky hair tousled from the wind; Stephen could smell the Atlantic Ocean on him, but it was soon obliterated by the cloying scent of blood that rose from the bundle thrust into his arms. “I came as fast as I could.”

_Loki?_

“What the hell happened?” Stephen snapped before relocating everyone to the Sanctum’s subterranean healing and treatment chambers. He tried to place Loki as gently as he could on the marble table but the moment he lay the deathly pale form down, his lover snapped out of his stupor and _screamed_. 

Stephen’s blood curdled at the sound. He had only heard such agony in former patients driven to the edge of madness by unimaginable pain. It was certainly nothing he had ever heard out of Loki.

“Thor?” he breathed.

“Upon his return to Asgard I was quite anxious to speak to him about the battle you fought, but before I could question him further, Loki excused himself to have a lie-down, said his stomach was a bit upset from spellcasting and teleporting – ” Thor blabbered. “I thought he did not look well at all, so I asked for some herbal tea to be sent to his chambers…then the kitchen help heard the screams.”

Loki?” Stephen cradled the sides of Loki’s face, twisted in a grotesque mask of unspeakable pain, teeth slick with what could only be blood bared in a grimace. “Babe, it’s me.”

“Stephen?” Loki’s blood-stained lips quivered as he whispered. “Hurts.”

“What does? Where?” Stephen pressed. He looked and saw the pale hand grasping a visibly spasming midsection. “Your belly?”

Loki nodded, and a tear beaded the corner of one eye. “Like a nest of vipers inside me.”

“Let me see.” Stephen frantically tugged at the blood-stained sheets, but Loki was not releasing his hold around his stomach. “Loki, I need to see. Where is all this blood coming from? Vomit?”

“No.” From where he was standing on the other side of the examining table, Wong pointed at something Stephen could not see. “The other end.”

“Damn it,” Stephen cursed. “Should have known.”

“There’s time for that later,” Wong growled. “You think this has something to do with Medusa?”

Before Stephen could answer, Loki bucked violently and spewed a great gout of blood all over himself.

“Loki – ” Panic-stricken, Thor leapt forward without thinking, but Wong was quick to hold him back.

“Better stand back, Sparks,” Wong said bravely. “Give us room to work.”

For a terrifying second, Thor looked all ready to electrocute everybody in the room, but common sense won out in the end. With a brisk nod, he took a few reluctant steps backward, anxious eyes still trained on his brother. “But I’m not leaving.”

“Wong,” Stephen called in a low voice. He sifted through Loki’s stomach contents with his bare fingers. “What the hell?”

Wong squinted. “What on earth are those? Rocks?”

Stephen could not tear his eyes away from the fistful of sharp, rough-edged objects he had fished from the blood pooling on the marble slab. “Grapes.”

He stared at Loki’s paper-white face and glassy eyes in horror. “Medusa must have turned what you ate into stone.”

“But my…spell…” Loki could barely speak.

“Only protected your physical body. But what isn’t organic to you…” To confirm his suspicion, Stephen pried Loki’s hands away by force, and just as he expected, Loki’s belly was obviously distended with visible waves of something slithering under the tight, taut skin like snakes.

“Get them out,” Loki whispered in horror. “Get them out of me, Strange.”

With what little strength he had left in him, Loki conjured a dagger and raised it high above his head.

“NO!” Thor and Stephen both yelled, but it was Wong who threw himself over Loki’s back and shoulders to physically wrest the weapon away before Loki could drive it into his own gut in his semi-delirious state.

“Get them out!” Blood frothed the corners of Loki’s lips as he screamed in rage and excruciating pain alike.

“They’re not snakes, Loki!” Stephen yelled. “It’s just peristaltic waves, nothing more!”

“Perista-what?” Thor demanded.

Stephen fought to remain calm. It would not do to lose his composure, not when they had a much, much bigger problem at hand.

“The stones are obstructing Loki’s alimentary tract. The waves you see are just his bowels spasming to try to relieve the constriction.” He had seen enough intestinal obstruction in his career to know the signs and symptoms like the back of his hand, but the knowledge did nothing to quell the cold fear rising in his gut. “If we do not relieve the obstruction, his bowels will perforate and he will almost certainly die.”

“What are our options?” Wong asked gravely. “The hospital?”

“No. No hospital,” Loki murmured, his head lolling against his chest, blood dribbling down his chin.

“Loki…”

“No, Thor.” Loki was dangerously teetering on the brink of unconsciousness, but he was adamant. “There’s nothing…they can do…for me.”

Stephen hated to admit it, but he had to agree. Loki was too unstable to be moved, judging by the amount of active bleeding that had now soaked the sheets entirely; the macroscopic and microscopic damage the sharp rocks had inflicted to his intestinal walls must be extensive to cause such catastrophic haemorrhage.

This was more than modern medicine could handle.

“I need the head.” At the almost-identical looks of bafflement on Thor and Wong’s faces, Stephen clarified. “The Medusa.”

Please let this work, Stephen prayed as he emulated what Loki had done earlier to free him and Wong from the stone spell.

After collecting enough gold dust to fill the palm of his hand, he turned to Wong.

“Henbane,” he murmured, exchanging knowing looks with his fellow Guardian. He needed a liquid base to turn the dust into a potion after all, and something told him henbane was it: a medicinal plant used for spasms of the digestive tract, it was also a favourite of Asclepius, whose potent Henbane potions were blessed by Apollo himself, Asclepius’ Father.

“I will get some from our gardens,” Wong said gruffly.

Stephen worked feverishly to brew the potion, and before long, it was ready. Loki had gone frightfully quiet in Thor’s arms, and for a terrifying moment, Stephen wondered if he was too late.

“Loki?”

Loki did not answer, his sweat-dampened face clammy and grey. Thor gave him a mighty shake. “Brother!”

Loki jolted, his eyes fluttering open, and a single word whistled past lips tinged with blue. “Mother.”

Thor’s eyes filled. “No, Loki. Not yet.”

“Prop him up, Thor,” Stephen ordered. He gripped Loki’s jaw and tipped the bottle against his obtunded lover’s lips slightly, but the potion dribbled down his chin uselessly. “Loki, drink.”

“It’s not working. Why isn’t it working?” At the sight of the precious potion trickling down the side of Loki’s slack mouth, Thor’s arm tightened around his brother, leaving angry red imprints around the curve of Loki’s white shoulder. “Loki, open your eyes and swallow, damn you!”

Stephen fought down the emotions threatening to drown him in a wave of rising panic. He was at his wit’s end but he would be damned if he allowed things to end this way.

“Not on my watch, Loki,” he whispered.

“Stephen, what are you doing?” Wong asked in alarm.

Stephen did not answer. He tossed the content of the vial into his own mouth, before gesticulating wildly to Thor to hand Loki over.

Paying absolutely no attention to his audience, Stephen pressed his lips to Loki’s cold, cold ones, forcing them ajar, and a bold thrust of his tongue forced the potion in; with the tips of his fingers pressed against both corners of Loki’s lips and a hard, deep kiss, he sealed Loki’s mouth to keep the potion in.

 _Drink_ , he prayed fervently. _Please, Loki. Drink._

With the palm of one hand pressed against the underside of Loki’s jaw, Stephen held his head up; at the same time, he massaged the potion down Loki’s throat with his thumb, coaxing Loki to swallow, while his other hand kneaded Loki’s stomach gently to gauge the effect of the medicine.

Stephen willed his magic through, grasping at every little thread of Loki’s life force it could find, tethering it to his own. He may not be able to directly channel the dimensional energy to revitalise Loki’s dying body, but at least he could lend Loki some of the strength he needed to

_Hang on, Loki. Just hang on._

Stephen released Loki’s lips once he was sure every drop of the medicinal brew had gone in and gathered Loki’s limp body to him in a tight embrace, blood and vomit and all, terrified to let go.

 _Please_.

He was dimly aware of the seconds ticking by, but as the seconds stretched into minutes and Loki had not moved, Stephen could feel his pounding heart coming to a standstill.

Something, or someone, roared in anguish close to his ear. Thor.

_It’s too late._

Hot tears seeped into Loki’s black hair as Stephen buried his face in it.

He was too late.

Something began to stir the air, a chill blew past his wet cheeks. The sensation was achingly familiar; it felt like the whisper of a breath, the way Loki used to blow wispy kisses against the white hair at his temple.

“Stephen.”

He pulled back in haste as his heart jumped to his throat. _Could it be – ?_

Loki’s head lolled and his lips did not move, but Stephen could swear he heard him say the name ‘Thor’ next.

Thor must have heard it too, it was not simply Stephen’s imagination, “Brother?”

“Do tell the Japanese Ambassador..." Loki murmured in utter exhaustion. "- the Romans were a real pain to eat."

Thor’s face crumbled as he visibly debated with himself whether to cry or to laugh – thankfully the God of Thunder chose the latter, for it made it easy for Stephen to hide his overwhelming relief, so boisterous was Thor’s laughter, as easy as it was to raise the Mirror Dimension around just the two of them.

Loki licked his parched lips, tasting the tell-tale sharpness of white henbane. “I see you’ve met Apollo.”

“What?” Stephen was barely listening; Loki had yet to open his eyes and Stephen swept jet-black locks out of the pale, pale face, just in case they were in the way.

Loki smiled a small smile. “Never mind.”

He could feel the potion working in synergy with his magic to heal the myriad of internal injuries, uncountable by any measure. The Norns may have spun the most convoluted threads of Fate for him, but no matter the century, no matter the universe, at every crossroad of intertwined destinies...

“Thank you.” Loki finally opened his eyes, bright green and full of vigour once more. “You’re a lifesaver.” 

The way Stephen was kissing him without a care in the world for who could be watching was evidence enough.

“Same time next Friday?” Loki whispered.

Stephen could not speak.

“I thought I'd lost you,” he croaked in a voice still choked from emotions.

"You didn't." Loki wrapped his arms around Stephen as tightly as the lingering weakness in his muscles would allow. "Not on your watch, remember?"

"Damn right."

The brilliance of Stephen’s all-too-human smile eclipsed all that was dark, and Loki knew that he was the most blessed being in the multiverse. 

"I love you."

"I love you." 

**Author's Note:**

> In case you couldn't tell, this is a self-indulgent, Loki whump piece, my very favourite thing in the world to write. 💖 Thanks for reading!


End file.
